Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stepped up his crackdown on his political opponents with the arrest last week of the mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, who stands accused of trumped-up charges of plotting a coup with support from the United States. Ledezma’s is the most recent in a string of arrests of opposition politicians and comes as Maduro faces a severe economic crisis at home.
Since assuming power in 2013, Maduro has struggled escape the shadow of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, and unify his base of support, known as the Chavistas. Last July, with oil prices only just falling, Frida Ghitis pointed to “a fracturing of support among Chavista loyalists” as “the most dangerous of all Maduro’s problems.” As Ghitis warned, “Maduro’s entire structure of support, the Socialist Party, looks like it could come apart. And if Maduro loses his party, he will lose power.”
She went on to add:
Keep reading for free
Already a subscriber? Log in here .
Get instant access to the rest of this article by creating a free account below. You'll also get access to two articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:
Subscribe for an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review
- Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
- Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
- The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.